The Medill Local News Initiative has completed its third annual survey of Chicago-area news consumers. Read more to see how consumers are engaging with local news and their thoughts on AI as part of the news-gathering process. spr.ly/63321BGr1o7

New study w/ Ayse Lokmanoglu, Christopher Dobmeier, and Nathan Walter in @jmcquarterly.bsky.social. We asked U.S. adults what "news" means to them and found six distinct schemas--including one built almost entirely on negative feelings, not topics or outlets. @medillschool.bsky.social

The Meanings of News: How U.S. Adults Think About the Word “News” - Stephanie Edgerly, Ayse D. Lokmanoglu, Christopher M. Dobmeier, Nathan Walter, 2026

This study explores the immediate, top-of-mind meanings audiences hold about “news.” Inspired by recent audience-centric approaches in defining news, we adopt a...

journals.sagepub.com

new research report @medillschool.bsky.social comparing media habits and attitudes between US teens and adults.

The Evolving News Landscape: Comparing Media Habits and Trust Between Teens and Adults - Medill - Northwestern University

Americans’ relationships with news are rapidly evolving, with teenagers and adults navigating a far more complex and fragmented media environment than ever before, according to a new national study fr...

medill.northwestern.edu

A new in-depth study by the Media Insight Project, which surveyed both adults and teens, provides a deep look into how news engagement does and does not vary by generation. Read the findings here: spr.ly/63325BBOx81

Very excited for @medillschool.bsky.social to be joining the Media Insight Project. Be on the lookout for our new research report at the end of the month.

Media Insight Project Expands With New Partners - Medill - Northwestern University

The Media Insight Project, a collaboration of the American Press Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research since 2014, announced today the addition of two new partners...

medill.northwestern.edu

Understanding how people engage with news and decide what to trust is one of the most pressing questions in journalism today. The Media Insight Project is adding two new academic partners to deepen that work: Northwestern University and the University of Maryland. Find out more: go.norc.org/4cpB1QK

@melissabell04.bsky.social argues (correctly) we shoveled our legacy journalism products online without considering how digital is different and ceded the convening function to digital platforms.

Associate Dean of Research @stephedgerly.bsky.social specializes in audience insight and how new media channels affect news consumption. Her most recent research looked at the news diets of U.S. teenagers: spr.ly/63326B6nbpK 🗞️

"News organizations should seriously explore ways to make news a more joyful experience." www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/joy-... by @stephedgerly.bsky.social

In a new survey commissioned by the @localnewsini.bsky.social, findings show the changing ways in which people’s news behaviors are evolving. Plus, they provide both dire warning signals for the news industry, and reasons for optimism. Read more: spr.ly/63325AKu7c

This article by Emily K. Vraga and @stephedgerly.bsky.social Edgerly explores how seeing #news that features a similar age group affects ratings of news-ness. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Relevance as a Mechanism in Evaluating News-Ness among American Teens and Adults

Definitions of news are increasingly fraught in today’s media environment, making audience assessments of news-ness – the degree to which something is considered news – particularly important. Draw...

tandfonline.com

Congrats to @stephedgerly.bsky.social for being awarded a Ver Steeg Fellowship. This fellowship supports the research of a tenured faculty member whose work enhances the reputation of Northwestern and comes with a research grant of $45,000: spr.ly/63326fYwpn

New study from me looking at the socialization of US teens (13-17) into different repertoires of news consumption. www.tandfonline.com/eprint/7NN9R...

Developing the habit: The socialization of U.S. teens into distinct repertoires of news consumption

Adolescence is a pivotal life stage when news habits are formed. In this study, I focus on the socialization of teenagers into various repertoires of news consumption. Specifically, I consider how ...

tandfonline.com

You should all read brilliant PhD student Taewoo Kang’s @greennail.bsky.social (first sole authored) paper in Comm Research (!) journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1... — fascinating relationships among geographic polarization, social media curation, efficacy, and trust.

Empowered by Curation: Spatial Differentiation in the Interrelationship Between Social Media Political Curation, Political Competence, and Trust—The Case of Michigan - Taewoo Kang, 2025

This study examines geographic variations in the relationship between social media political curation and political trust. Analyzing survey data from the U.S. s...

journals.sagepub.com

📊📰 How does sentiment in cable news coverage reflect the dynamics of the 2024 election? @gavinploger.bsky.social & @snsoroka.bsky.social analyze the tone of media reporting on Harris and Trump, revealing intriguing insights about coverage on CNN and Fox News. https://bit.ly/4g0RP10

📢📰 How is Kamala Harris represented in mainstream vs. Black media? @williamsfayne.bsky.social & @daniellekbrown.bsky.social delve into the nuanced coverage of her campaign, highlighting the differences in narratives and endorsements. https://bit.ly/4hVXdnD #KamalaHarris #MediaRepresentation

Check out what Ruth Palmer, @ekvraga.bsky.social and I have to say about the need for happy election news and why these stories were hard to find before Election Day. 🔗 www.electionanalysis.ws/us/president...

🚨U.S. Election Analysis 2024: Media, Voters and the Campaign🚨 I co-edited this free report featuring 88 articles from leading scholars with snap analysis and research insights about the election. A big thank you to everyone who contributed!

📣U.S. Election Analysis 2024: Media, Voters and the Campaign🗳️ Free report featuring 88 articles from leading scholars with snap analysis and research insights on the 2024 U.S. General Election. 🔗https://www.electionanalysis.ws/us/ 📄https://bit.ly/USElectionAnalysis2024_Jackson-et_al_v1-COMPRESSED